Saturday, April 27, 2019

Soft enforcements of culture

in a comment on women’ headwear of a particular sect, Ramarao Kanneganti says:
”We may think that women have choice; or underprivileged have choice. But, that choice is illusory. With one choice comes advantages: respect, community, safety, support, and cultural advantages. With other choice, they are left to create their own cultural, social universes. 

We are conditioned to think force means physical or mental. There are soft enforcements of culture. Lot of times they are for good; lot of times they are not. They are the ways societies perpetuate themselves in unwritten ways. 

How societies deal with breaking of these unwritten rules is an interesting study. Usually breaking them is not against the fundmental rules of the society. Progressive societies define a gradual way of making these changes (see: gay marriage etc). The conservative societies started making these unwritten rules as written rules.

Probably too obvious, but I find it fascinating how societies choose to govern themselves.”

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